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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. chest — of your body
  4. scale — in music
  5. net — for catching
  6. wake — a trail
  7. land — to come down
  8. ball — a dance
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. net — after costs
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. scale — size or range
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. chest — a box
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. pit — a hole
  21. net — in sport
  22. pit — in a race
  23. ball — a great time
  24. chest — of your body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com